Brush.



G. C. BEMIS.

BRUSH.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 25.1915.

Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

nvenov SWW- entre sfrarsaiarr nien.

GLBERT C. BEIVIIS, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TOEDWARD F. FLETCHER, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

BRUSH.

Application filed June 25, 1915.

To all whom it may concern: Be 1t known that I, GILBERT C. Beans, acitizen of the United States, residing at ,iVorcester, in the county of1Worcester and .cleaning and scraping purposes and the like,

and while capable of being used in other ways is especially adapted foruse as a simple hand brush. ,4

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a brush of thischaracter which has a maximum efficiency for this purpose, in which thespread of the bristles can be readily controlled in the manufacture ofthe brush without additional expense, in which the wire bristles areintroduced into the brush and held in position in such a way that thedanger of having them bent over inside and thus causing unevenness inthe brushing or scraping surface is avoided, and in which themanufacture of the brush is rendered very simple and the brush itselfinexpensive, durable and efficient.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1is a side elevation of a preferred embodiment of this-invention; Fig. 2is a central sectional view of the same; Fig. 3 is an end elevation;Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a modification; and Fig. 5 isa view of the bristle spacing and retaining plug before it is introducedinto the brush.

The invention is shown in the first three figures in a form in which itinvolves a sheet metal main casing 10 which in this form of theinvention not only constitutes the casing for receiving the ends of thebristles l1 but also constitutes a handle by which the brush ismanipulated. This casing as originally made has a flat end and acylindrical side wall. i/Vhen it is used as shown in these figures so ast0 constitute a long handle for the brush it is provided at its bottomwith a wooden plug 12. This plug fits the inner cylindrical wall of thecasing frictionally. I have made brushes of this lrind in which thisplug is simply rounded over or beveled at its lower corner, but I havefound in practice that this necessitates the applica- Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Sept. 2e?, 19rd.

Serial No. 36,373.

tion of considerable pressure in order to force this plug clear down tothe bottom of the casing. This is due to the fact that this casing isformed ordinarily of a single sheet of metal and consequently there is aslight contraction at the bottom inside. To avoid this difficulty Il1ave'1'. rovid.ed this plug in the form shown herein with a sharp bevel13 and this is the preferred construction. iV ith this I find that theamount of pressure required for forcing the plug to the end of thecasing is very greatly reduced. When these two parts 10 and 12 areassembled in this way the bristles 1l are arranged in a circle, bymethods which it will not be necessary to describe herein as they do notconstitute a part of this invention, and introduced into the casingabove the plug, and a second plug 14 is introduced into their center.This plug is also beveled off at 15 like the plug 12, but for a dierentpurpose. Tt

has been found in practice that it is necessary to push this plug inwith the bristles and that in doing so there is a tendency `for thebristles to bend over at the bottom and be caught under the plug. Thistendency of course is not distributed evenly around the circumferenceand consequently when this action occurs the ends of the bristles arelikely to be uneven. Tt is for the purpose of mitigating this difficultythat the lower end of the plug is beveled, but T find that even thatdoes not entirely remove the trouble, and in order to still furtheravoid this danger T previously treat this plug with a mixture of linseedoil and turpentine so that the entire surface is coated with it and themixture penetrates the wood to some eX- tent. This, when it is firstapplied, furnishes a lubricating action which reduces the tendency ofthe wood to draw the wire bristles down through and bend them overunderneath the plug, but after the brush has been constructed thelinseed oil hardens and in fact assists in anchoring the bristles inposition, although as a matter of fact, the next step, which I shalldescribe will ordinarily firmly secure them in position. This also makesthe plug waterproof. By making the plug 12 large enough so as to fittightly within the casing, all danger of pushing the bristles between itand the casing is avoided. Thus they are kept square on the end. ThisneXt step consists in applying pressure around the tube itself at adistance from the open end and also at a distance from the bottom of theplug le. It will be noticed that this plug is of uniform cross sectionfrom the end of the bevel to the opposite end of the plug, that is, itis not provided .with vany circumferential groove or groove at Vanydesired distance from the open end of the casing, and I find that byhaving the plug come just short of liush with the open end of the casingand regulating the longitudinal position of this groove I can spread theouter ends of the bristles to greater degree. I find in practice thatnot only are the bristles veryfirmly set in their position, butrthat thewhole brush is rendered stiffer and that it is much more eflicient as ascraping device if the bristles are set so that they slightly divergefrom the point at which they emerge from the end of the casing. It willbe understood, of course, that these bristles are usually of temperedsteel and that when once given a set they will `ordinarily retain it fora long time, evenunder severe usage.

I have found in practice that a brush made as above described is anextremely efficient device for scraping purposes. It can be used forcleaning wood, metal, stone, etc. As a. kitchen utensil for cleaningmetallic pots, pans, sinks, and the like, it is conveniently manipulatedon account of the handle, and the user has full control of it at alltimes so that there is very little danger of its being bent out ofshape. Consequently it is an extremely durable and useful article in thekitchen.

In the form shown in Fig. d, a modification is made by having the pluglas a little shorter than indicated in the other igures and bending thetwo opposite edges of the open end of the casing inwardly toward eachother so that the bristles are vflattened out to form .a fiat scrapingdevice instead of a circular one. This is useful for certainpurposesbut. for ordinary use the otherV Copes of this patent may beobtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patenti,w

ure by eliminating the handle and the plug l2 and showing only a shortcasinof. This construction can be used also on the other type of brushand canl be` manipulated by hand, but` not so conveniently, and it canbe used in making cylindrical brushes for cleaning out cannon, alsobuing and polishing and the like. However, this shows the advantage ofthe general structure of the device in that with the same instrumentsand the same dies, and all other parts except a slight change in theplug 14: or 14a, a brush of a different type can lie-formedwithoutmaterial additional expense.

Although I have illustrated and described only two lforms of theinvention, I am aware of the fact `that many modifications can be madetherein by any person skilled in the art without departing from thesco-pe ofthe invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do notwish to be limited to all the details of construction herein shown Y anddescribed, but

l/V hat I do claim is l. As an article of manufacture, a scraper brushcomprising a substantially cylindrical, metal casing, a plug locatedwithin said casing and yhaving a Vuniform cylindrical theY plug andcasing, said casing being com pressed around the same in such positionas to cause the wires to spread outwardly c and form a truncated conewith its larger;

end at the free end `of lthe wires.

2. As an article of manufacture, a brush comprising a substantiallycylindrical casing.

having a flat closed end and an open end, a

plug centered within said casing and having a uniformA cylindricalsurface substantially all the way from lend toend, a bunch' of ioobristles arranged in annular form and held` between the plug and casing,said casing having means for causing the bristles .to

spread outwardly and form aA truncated.

cone with its larger end at the free end of the bristles, said casinghaving a cylindrical Y extension projecting beyond, the botto-in yofsaid plug to constitute a handlefor manipulating the brush and beingprovided ywith a second plug behind the first plug fillingY the spacebetween it and the end of the casing,

the second plug being of larger diameter than the iirst one.- Y

In testimony whereof I have hereuntoiset my hand.

GILBERT C. BEMIS.

Washington, D. C.

